Clan Childlaw has been awarded funding from the Scottish Government to provide a legal service to prevent care experienced young people in Scotland from becoming homeless.  The service is called the Scottish Care Leavers Housing Advice Service (SCLHAS).

About the Project

The SCLHAS provides free, confidential legal help with housing problems to care experienced young people in Scotland. We help young people who are worried about housing or having a place to live. Our lawyers know about children’s rights, care leavers rights and young people’s housing rights which means we can help young people with any problems with making sure they have a place to stay whether they are in care, leaving care or after they have left care.

Anyone who supports or advocates for a care experienced young person with a housing problem can contact our free helpline to get information and practical guidance on young people’s housing and care leavers rights. You can refer a young person to us for legal help through our helpline.

The SCLHAS will provide people who accommodate, care for and support care experienced young people with training on housing rights designed to make them better able to advocate on behalf of care experienced young people to prevent homelessness.

We also seek to influence national policy to improve processes and systems, and improve outcomes for care experienced young people women who are at risk of or have experienced homelessness.

What kind of problems might the young person be facing?

We know from our work with care experienced young people that they can encounter a variety of problems which can cause homelessness. SCLHAS provides legal solutions for care experienced young people:

• at risk of homelessness on leaving care or continuing care
• in accommodation with no security of tenure
• not getting appropriate support to sustain their tenancies
• deterred from making housing applications or emergency accommodation
• in unsuitable or unaffordable accommodation
• sofa-surfing or staying in accommodation where they may be unsafe
• with unmet support needs which put them at increased risk of homelessness
• at risk of refusing or leaving accommodation without understanding the consequences.

Further Information

For more information on the Scottish Care Leavers' Housing Advice Service please contact [email protected] or 0808 129 0522.